Two weeks early ...it's the flying ants

SCORCHING weather has seen winged ants take to the air earlier than usual.

PUBLISHED: 00:00, Thu, Jul 18, 2013

The scorching weather has had an effect on flying ants' behaviour

Flying ants usually appear at the end of July when they mate and form new colonies. But biologists say the hot weather has triggered the process two weeks early.

Professor Adam Hart, from the University of Gloucestershire, said: “Each summer flying ants erupt from the ground seemingly without warning, as new queens leave the nest to mate and found their own colonies.

“They often emerge simultaneously over large parts of the country, and many people know this as ‘flying ant day’. But we wanted to find out whether there really is one single day.

It could be that this weather kept some flying ants in their nests waiting for a suitable day

Adam Hart, University of Gloucestershire

“Interestingly, in 2012 there were two main flying ant days, two weeks apart. The time between the two peaks was a period of low pressure, which is usually associated with clouds, wind and rain. It could be that this weather kept some flying ants in their nests waiting for a suitable day, in which case we may not see the double peak again this year.”

This is the second year of the Society of Biology’s Flying Ant Survey.